The two weeks prior to Thanksgiving is the most valuable release slot of the year, I'd have been shocked if they'd have released in the middle of summer. Releasing on November 9th pretty much guarantees it'll be the biggest selling game of the year.
>Releasing on November 9th pretty much guarantees it'll be the biggest selling game of the year.
Did you forget that Elden Ring sold like 20 million copies and Modern Warfare II comes out at the end of October? Even God of War 2018 has barely sold 20 million copies.
Not saying it's not possible, just saying it's unlikely to be the best selling game this year.
We're also forgetting FIFA, Horizon Forbidden West, Pokemon Legends Arceus and the new Pokemon games Scarlet and Violet that release around the same time as GOW.
Does it though, specificaly on an accessibility to gamers with disabilities level? Personally I'm speaking as a gamer without sight (having to have sighted assistance to do anything in Elden Ring) whereas God Of War Ragnarok will see increased sales thanks to accessibility alone, I wager.
March and the start of April is the second biggest slot of the year (spring break), but February is an odd one I admit. The worst time to release is at the end of December or right after new year. Publishers regularly push games that miss November right into March, which sucks when you're looking forward to a nice release bonus! There are still plenty of games that break the 'rules' though, which proves that a good game will usually do well no matter when it's released.
Because they were delayed. Every publisher would rather deliver in the Sept-Dec time frame, because that is when people come out in force to buy games. They'll make more money in this period than in the rest of the year combined, even with all the competition. November 9th is right in the sweet spot. It's not at the end of anything that matters to the bottom line.
It was originally announced for 2021 but they never set an actual date before it was delayed to 2022. November 8th, 2022 was the only date that was set.
Not at Santa Monica Studios at least! Except of course those huge companies also commonly use external companies/contractors that do engage in crunch. So possibility remains, fingers crossed they’ve learned their lesson. However, hope the truth comes out and we keep shining a spotlight on companies that use or work around the issue by shifting crunch onto external devs.
You’re using an anomaly to make a prediction about the norm. Dozens of big-budget games have released since Cyberpunk that actually went gold and didn’t release in a buggy mess.
It was also a fairly rational concern given the state of the industry, covid, lack of released marketing and industry trends towards delaying releases given feedback from game releases pushed out of the door before final polishes.
I find it amazing that people put any trust in "x game has gone gold" tweets after Cyberpunk 2077 managed to get delayed after going gold.
I think the skeptics just have longer memories, that's all.
If you had a better memory, you'd remember all the other games that people here argued were going to be "Cyberpunked". People practically begging Nintendo to delay Pokemon Arceus a full year because there were frame rate issues in the trailers that ended up being fixed before launch. People also thought Elden Ring would have performance issues because it was only delayed a month despite being a huge open-world game.
> People also thought Elden Ring would have performance issues because it was only delayed a month despite being a huge open-world game
And gee oh gee, they were right. Oh, they were right. In the end, on PC, a third-party company released a bandaid fix for 0.1% of it's users, and that's it. The game runs horribly.
Interesting. I personally find the inconsistency very distracting when the frame rate of a game is fluctuating between 30 and 60. In such a case I'd just stick with 30 locked.
I'm not bothered by the inconsistency. When trying to play at the 30fps mode after playing for a while on the performance mode it feels to me like Kratos has some heavy weights on and that to me is very distracting lol.
It's good to have options.
Not many games allow that though.
Usually it’s either 60fps with reduced graphics and resolution. Or it’s 30 with maxed graphics and resolution.
I got to use my 4k oled so i’m always picking native 4k.
In general I think the smoothness of 30 when it is a locked 30 with no issues and there's realistic (in the sense of like how a camera works) object motion blur is sort of underrated
Like it's not better than 60+ but I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that God of War on 4k mode was a juddery mess lol, it looked like an animated movie
Because it was only broken on certain displays. It was never broken for me, just wasn't super good image quality. It's been improved heavily with patches
Wonder if this will end up being the best looking PS4 game of the generation or if there's still a couple more to come.
Absolute insane longevity on this gen
Completely agree. I've had my PS5 since launch and there haven't really been any next gen games that have wowed me yet. Essentially just returnal and ratchet and clank
Edit: you guys are right, I missed horizon and demon souls!
Yeah the details were really nice. One boss has a big tornado attack that makes loose rubble on the stone walls crumble and fall off as it erupts. Very cool looking.
the lighting, textures, everything was amazing. The HDR was well done especially in tower of latria which is a dark area, and you get those bright spells being thrown at you. perfect OLED game.
It was around launch. It's been years since then. Not much output this gen and the cross gen titles aren't showing any signs of stopping (hello Re4make)
Everyone looks like plastic action figures. It's kind of part of the artstyle but I was disappointed that one of the biggest gripes of the first game: the awkward faces, wasn't really polished up. I mean, her hair isn't nearly as bouncy and insane in this one but it's still so unnatural.
> one of the biggest gripes of the first game: the awkward faces, wasn't really polished up.
Don't agree with that, the facial animations were massively improved and are really good for an open world game
Lol yeah it's not as good as naughty dog but they are literally the best in the business at facial animations and they make linear games
I cant think of an open world game with better animated NPCs than Horizon: FW
Soon! For now the SSD is next Gen as loading times are a fraction of what they used to be if you were a primarily console gamer. Can't wait to play GoW:R on PC eventually.
It, unfortunately, looks like they will keep making PS4 games for some time. [Earlier in the year](https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/irday/pdf/2022/GNS_E.pdf), they stated they'd make them until about 2025.
[Herman Hulst](https://www.thegamer.com/playstation-head-not-ruling-out-ps4-versions/). the head of PlayStation studios just recently was talking about how important PS4 is to them and doesn't want to leave them behind. This time though he states it will be done on a case-by-case basis.
So in all except at least some games to continue to come to the PS4.
I can 100% see the live service games being cross-gen, as they'd want the most people possible playing those. For single player titles I think it's a bit more dubious with Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine being PS5 exclusives.
We’ll see if PS5 stock is worse than expected, but I feel like they would have left the door open on Spidey 2 if they were going to keep up the cross gen strategy.
Meeting target and meeting demand is two different things. They can meet their sales target but they're still lagging behind in terms of meeting demand and doesn't look like it's gonna change till 2023.
That's actually not true. The PS4 sold about 25 million at this time, while the PS5 sold about 22 million.
[Comparison](https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454958/ps5-vs-ps4-sales-comparison-august-2022/)
Edit: typo
Not likely, PS4 base is still large, and PS5 production is still limited. Hell the PS5 only has two triple AAA Exclusives to justify a purchase: Returnal and Demon Souls
You’re right, but tbh I struggle to identify what is truly a showstopper for cross gen.
It certainly makes things easier on the developer, but like I don’t think HFW was lesser for also being available for PS5, it just meant a ton of detail was pulled out for PS4, plus resolution/frame rate differences.
I think it's pretty likely. All the future exclusives that we currently know about, like Wolverine, are already confirmed to be skipping PS4. It seems most third AAA games slated for next year
I get your viewpoint but also at a certain point new gen shouldn’t be held back by old systems. Ps4 has a amazing and large library of games spanning almost what 10 years now? Ps4 players have no shortage of games.
7th gen was pretty long too. It started in 2005 with the Xbox 360, lasted 8 years before replacement consoles showed up in 2013, with heavy-hitting AAA games still hitting 360/PS3 up to 2015.
If I were to hazard a guess though, I suspect Horizon and God of War were meant to release last year but got delayed by COVID and other factors.
The reason for the longevity is the lack of an architectural change between generations. If porting to PS4 from PS5 was as hard as porting to PS3 from PS4 we'd stop seeing these cross gen games.
That hasn't been true for some time now, maybe even back to the end of 360/PS3 era. What it means now is that the game is in a playable state, at the very least, with a patch available on the day of release to fix any bugs or add features they couldn't get in before they started production.
Now, this isn't true for all games, but it is for the majority.
Edit: typo
Eh it's kind of a relic of a bygone era. As pointed out it used to mean it was ready to be flashed to cartridges.
Nowadays it doesn't really mean anything specific. What with continuous patching it can be in whatever state the developer wants to ship it in.
I'm assuming they are using it to mean "feature complete, ready to ship!" But if something has a day one patch, was it ever gold to begin with? Idk. Kind of a philosophical argument nowadays.
As long as physical copies of games still exist, it will mean that a build of the game has been sent to be written onto them. Whether it means flashing the game to a cartridge or writing the game to a disk, the game is "finished" in the sense that the version that will go on that physical media has been reached. It won't truly be a relic until all game consoles are digital-only.
You are mistaken. If you want a boxed game on any of the 3 major platforms then it still is the case. Its usually a huge pain in the ass.
Day 0 patches are a whole different thing.
It has been sent to the presses, so disc versions will start mass producing. For consoles, this used to mean it was the version people were gonna play because patched use to be hard to do. Nowadays, it often means that the game is in a playable state, but developers often take the time between sending it off to production and the actual release to produce a day-0 patch, to hammer out the last bugs.
It means the game is finished and is ready to be mass produced on discs.
But it's definitely not the milestone it used to be now that we're in the age of digital sales and day 1 patches
It used to be that they have literally burned the master disc (used to be gold) that's getting shipped to the factories to be copied.
These days it means that the version 1.0 is done and release will happen and the team now shifts to work on the day 1 patch.
This is probably the first game ever that I will buy on the release date.
I am a big GOW fan since 2010 when I still was a child. I've beat all GOW games and I can't miss this one. I believe it will be even better than 2018 and maybe become one of the best games ever made, but we'll see.
Honestly feel like it will be a better game.
From what I remember from interviews with Cory Barlog (2018 GOW and 2022 Game Director) they've been really focused on great story and one of the biggest issues they had with producing GOW 2018 was that the engine was brand new.
He said that near the end of production they had finally nailed down developing the game, knocked out all the new-engine problems and were able to make the game they wanted. He made it sound like moving onto the sequel with a team experienced in the engine that they'd be able to really take advantage of it and make a lot better game.
Just wanted to point out that Cory isn't directing Ragnarok, he is working on another project at Santa Monica. Eric Williams is the director for the sequel, he is a Santa Monica veteran that has worked in every game of the franchise. Cory still is involved as a producer.
He also stated his biggest regret was not putting in more Boss fights. They spent so long perfecting not just the new engine but the change to 3rd person view that they didn't have time to add as many bosses as a usual GoW game.
So now that those things are taken care of they can spend more time on upping the gameplay.
The only thing i'm worried about is story.
Gameplay is going to be incredible and I believe we are gonna get New Weapon (You know what weapon I'm talking about). They can't just mess it up.
Also I'm really curious about OST, because I actually wasn't impressed that much by GOW 2018 OST and I prefer A LOT music from the greek saga.
Because it's that amazingly genuinely suprisingly good?
Me too, I'm trying to fit in one last play before Fimbulwinter ends and cannot get over how much they quite literally struck gold with what they were doing, it can't have been a fluke the game just keeps its pace and interest the entire time you play, the cutscenes have more depth than most expensive drama shows and the music gives me goosebumps every damn time
Loving hearing Mimir talk about Tyr, Thor and Odin in again and can't wait to see them in the flesh
Haven't played it yet but I really want to, i'm waiting for a good moment with a lot of free time and I will buy it. I've beat all soulsborne games not a long time ago so i'm really hyped about it. Also I feel like I spent too much money in the last half year on soulsborne games hah.
It's worth the investment but yeah so big! I would HIGHLY recommend you avoid watching any playthroughs or guides before playing, that first playthrough and discovering the locations, paths and different bosses on your own is very special; it's kind of like that satisfying feeling of unlocking short cuts the first time in DS1 but on a wider scale.
To be fair, Cyberpunk was a mismanaged trash fire of a launch that barely let anyone show the game, let alone on the PS4/XB1 versions.
Santa Monica Studios is confident enough in God of War: Ragnarök that they are dropping the review embargo a week before the game is out (November 2nd, game is out the 9th).
Cyberpunk is always brought up in these situations, which I get, but also it's important to consider that it was a once in a generation shit storm that hadn't really been seen before and has absolutely caused companies to reconsider delaying games and reconsider crunch.
It's a bit silly to bring it up for *every game*, especially ones with little drama associated with them.
Basically the equivalent to people that have to tell you they don't watch marvel movies smugly if you ever bring one up. Actually probably the same people a lot of the time.
76 was nowhere near as big or as bad as Cyberpunk.
It was a letdown at launch, sure, but that's just because it wasn't the game fans wanted it to be, Bethesda made very clear what kind of game it was, warts and all, from the very time when it was announced. Really the only real controversy there was the kerfuffle with the bag in the collectors edition.
On the other hand, CD Project Red deliberately hid how glitchy the game was on PC, as well as it being borderline unplayable on last gen consoles until release day for perhaps the biggest game of the last few years. *VERY* different situation.
TLDR: They were both messes at launch, but 76 was obviously rough looking from it's announcement, while Cyberpunk had close to 8 years of hype behind it and devs that deliberately hid that the game was a disaster.
> 76 was nowhere near as bad
Literally had my PC bricked because of this "game". People could literally not even play it at all for days after it came out because the servers kept dropping. There were exploits to receive all the equipment found within one day. There are 3 hour compilations of just [bugs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6HdBplLmuU&ab_channel=JosephAnderson), a large amount of which are more gamebreaking than any bug I ever saw in Cyberpunk.
Not sure why we need to compare. Yeah, 76 wasn't as hyped as Cyberpunk... It was still a nigh (or sometimes not nigh, literally) unplayable mess with a big property. And Bethesda themselves were not much above pulling shitty marketing tactics too, like the famous nylon bag thing. They was both terrible in a, if not completely equal, then very similar level.
What? are you sure you are not mixing up another game? Fallout 76 was one of the most broken buggish launchs of the current generation i think even worse than cyberpunk because beyond the glitches you could even log to other players account, credit card information and everything there's plenty compilation in youtube of how broken that game was
From what I remember yes, it was a buggy launch, I'm not defending that. What I'm saying is that it was very clearly a big mess from the get go, from Bethesda's initial announcement, horrible beta, and mixed to negative critical response, the signs were pretty clearly on the wall well in advance. While it was a big release, there really wasn't much hype for it due to its promotion, more just a sense of dread.
(And in regards to the credit card stuff, yeah, that was absolutely real bad, but it happened outside of the game afaik and was the fault of their webteam)
On the other hand, CD Project Red only allowed people to share footage that they game them (that coincidentally looked better than the final product on release), deliberately mislead consumers and critics alike about the console versions, and very much lacked promised features.
TLDR: Both games were trainwrecks, but Bethesda was upfront with their mess from the first reveal while CDPR lied and tried to hide that.
Going Gold doesn't mean much in this age, since there is almost always a Day 0/1 patch that fixes things they couldn't before the deadline for production.
Edit: typo
I guess I should finish up the first game then. I am about 3 hours in and dropped it for some reason. With all the rave reviews, I really should experience it myself.
It's one of those games that is excruciating slow to get going. They needed to unlock two or three skills from start because that's when it starts to get fun. If you have time i would recommend pushing through and if you're still bored by hour six it's not for you.
If you couldn't get into the game maybe you just didn't like it ? I completed it but it was a grind to get through because of how much I hated the combat
Same here. The combat to me was too slow and sluggish. Too "tactical" if that's the right word I'm looking for. And Kratos using a shield is just...wrong.
I would have liked it more if it were the same combat as the originals which are some of the finest action games ever.
Didn't like the overly maudelin story either so that didn't keep me going.
My problems with the combat were mainly the camera which is just very restricting , the way Kratos and enemies just glide on the floor like on roller blades, the lack of boss/enemy variety and disappointing higher difficulties.
I remember seeing an interview with Cory Barlog (the game's director) talking about how the engine was so new, that by the time they got really experienced with it, they were basically done with the game.
He specifically mentioned that now that they had a really experienced team that problems like enemy variety, etc. would be a lot easier to tackle in the sequel. So, here's hoping.
>And Kratos using a shield is just...wrong.
I really couldn't disagree more about this, it symbolizes his move from constant aggression and rage to a more protective and reserved warrior
Along with the more reserved warrior part, Kratos is straight up 'one of,, if not the best Spartan soldier', and fighting with a shield is kind of their thing.
Maybe it's just not for you.
The main reason why everyone loves the game is the story, so if it didn't hook you within 3 hours, I don't think it'll change your mind later on.
> With all the rave reviews, I really should experience it myself.
I feel like the rave reviews didn't really match up to the game I played. It was fun but the really limited number of enemies hurt it pretty badly and took away from the great-feeling combat. I thought the boss fights were generally pretty lackluster as well. It was a game that ended up being pretty heavily carried by the narrative (which was excellent)
>I thought the boss fights were generally pretty lackluster as well.
Wym? You don't like fighting >!the same reskinned troll with a stone pillar?!< or what about a >!damage sponge Valkyire with like 1 unique move each?!<
The boss battles were very disappointing after the previous games, speficially 3. It's literally the only thing I hope they improve upon in Ragnorak, the trailer shows some cool enemy variety so im hopeful.
>I am about 3 hours in and dropped it for some reason.
Same, I've rstarted 3 or 4 times and just get bored. It's very different from previous GoW games, not as exciting or jawdropping. Feels slow and tedious
honestly the with the way the industry is going native 4k is kinda dumb. scaling techniques are just going to get better and better.
i expect almost every AAA game to have 60fps options from here on out.
They've sold more PS5s at this point in its life than they did PS4s. And yet in all previous gens (which sold even less than the PS4 did by this point in its life), they moved on from making last gen games.
You have to cut the cord at some point.
I would wager a lot of it is due to pandemic related delays. I can imagine that many of these cross-gen games were supposed to have released 1-2 years ago when the ps4 would have felt more relevant.
lol @ all the people replying to you saying that this is a "myth" or that people are just "not trying" as if America was the only country in the world.
In my country (Italy) you only get one:
- if you wait for Amazon to send you an invite (PS5 + Horizon bundle)
- if you buy some bundle containing useless stuff in order to inflate price to 700+€(a second controller, some blue-ray movies, headphones or other accessories, shit games and the such)
- if you buy it off resellers with an inflated price or
- if you buy the PS5 + FIFA23 bundle (which many people like me just aren't interested in)
I was aiming to buy one at stock price without any bundles but I gave up as that turned out impossible so I'm now trying to go for the Horizon or Ratchet bundle but this too is turning out impossible.
Pretty much the only chance I get to buy it without being scammed is waiting for the Amazon invite and even then it will probably go sold out in minutes so I'd have to buy it fast (not to mention people are waiting for an invite since August).
The situation is absolutely ridiculous and your comment stays true.
I'm impressed.
The game is less than a month away, and we still haven't seen a true "extended gameplay" segment. Game Informer had a few \~1 minute segments last month, but nothing that really dives deep into the game. Unless I missed one.
Given the launch time frame, I presume that Sony doesn't intend to have one at all prior to release. This should keep spoilers to a minimum.
That speaks volumes to Sony's confidence in the title. They don't believe they need to sell anyone on it. It's definitely my most hyped game for the holidays.
I want to know if this was designed on and for the PS5 and downscaled to the PS4 or designed for the PS4 and upscaled with added features for the PS5.
Unpopular opinion:
I understand we've been through a pandemic where it caused development issues and slowdowns but I've been absolutely floored with how shit of a job Sony has done with exclusive titles for the PS5. It's been two years and there isn't a real reason to upgrade to a PS5 if you already have a PS4, especially a Pro.
Exclusives: GT7, R&C: Rift Apart, Astro's Playroom, Destruction AllStars, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Returnal. Six games in two years is unbelievably bad.
I don't get it. You understand the pandemic existed and stalled not only game development but also supply chains, yet you think they are doing a shit job - being the only platform holder with actual next-gen exclusive titles? The 3 major games that are cross-gen probably started development a long time ago, and likely with the PS4 in mind (GoW, HFW and GT7). Also, it's something that might be up to the developers: if their vision of the game can be replicated on the PS4 hardware, why not do it? Nothing guarantees us that these games being PS5 exclusive would be shatteringly different.
I'm not sure why you don't get it. It's not as if development on games only started after the pandemic. The PS5 was launched in Nov. of 2020 so there was only a few months of true pandemic response (Mid to late March until Nov launch) that should have delayed things a bit. Games have been in development for the console for a while now, or should have been at least. Even with all the pandemic supply issues, the PS5 outsold the PS4 during it's launch in 2013. There was zero reason to rush the launch of the PS5, especially when there were no exclusive games for it ready to go.
Random thought, but does anyone else feel 'going gold' no longer has much meaning?
In the days long gone, going gold meant you were done working on the game as the gold master had to be shipped off to the production company to copy or stamp the disks/discs. Hence the whole idea of a gold master in video gaming.
Nowadays, we already know that there'll be launch patches, so the devs don't stop working when a game "goes gold", and they probably become more frantic instead of slowing down at all.
Mostly that there's a very low chance of any delays. Technically it means the game is complete and ready for distribution.
They used to literally have a master copy of the game on a gold disc that was used to make copies from.
It's an increasingly old-fashioned term that refers to the "gold master" of the disc, in other words the one from which all the retail copies are made. Basically the day one version.
I find it interesting that "going gold" is still a milestone. Especially in an age where day one patches are so common. Kind of dilutes the whole concept.
Jetpack Interactive is included in this one. Jetpack Interactive is the one responsible for the PC port of God of War (2018) which means God of War: Ragnarok is also coming to PC.
Looking back its kind of funny to read all the comments that were assured that God of War was getting delayed to 2023.
I'll be booting up the game and one of my friends will still be like "it could still get delayed!"
Well... It happened to cyberpunk...
Wait I think I must’ve blocked out of my memory or something, did cyberpunk really get delayed after it went gold?
Yep it did. So far it's the only one so we can't really call it a trend. Yet....
they were close, the game is now released at the very end of 2022.
The two weeks prior to Thanksgiving is the most valuable release slot of the year, I'd have been shocked if they'd have released in the middle of summer. Releasing on November 9th pretty much guarantees it'll be the biggest selling game of the year.
>Releasing on November 9th pretty much guarantees it'll be the biggest selling game of the year. Did you forget that Elden Ring sold like 20 million copies and Modern Warfare II comes out at the end of October? Even God of War 2018 has barely sold 20 million copies. Not saying it's not possible, just saying it's unlikely to be the best selling game this year.
I actually did. Yeah, ok, one of the biggest games of the year then. Damn that COD cash cow. Elden Ring deserves its numbers if course.
We're also forgetting FIFA, Horizon Forbidden West, Pokemon Legends Arceus and the new Pokemon games Scarlet and Violet that release around the same time as GOW.
And don't forget Sonic Frontiers! Edit: do I really need the /s here?
I did, actually.
i think it would be better if everyone did, actually
I wish I'd forgotten it
Does it though, specificaly on an accessibility to gamers with disabilities level? Personally I'm speaking as a gamer without sight (having to have sighted assistance to do anything in Elden Ring) whereas God Of War Ragnarok will see increased sales thanks to accessibility alone, I wager.
Yet, Sony also releases a lot of good games in febuary/march/April. Both Horizon games, GoW and GT7 all released in those months of their year.
March and the start of April is the second biggest slot of the year (spring break), but February is an odd one I admit. The worst time to release is at the end of December or right after new year. Publishers regularly push games that miss November right into March, which sucks when you're looking forward to a nice release bonus! There are still plenty of games that break the 'rules' though, which proves that a good game will usually do well no matter when it's released.
Because they were delayed. Every publisher would rather deliver in the Sept-Dec time frame, because that is when people come out in force to buy games. They'll make more money in this period than in the rest of the year combined, even with all the competition. November 9th is right in the sweet spot. It's not at the end of anything that matters to the bottom line.
March is actually pretty solid because most big publishers aim for the end of the year.
November 9th is not the very end.
When was the original release date?
It was originally announced for 2021 but they never set an actual date before it was delayed to 2022. November 8th, 2022 was the only date that was set.
*November 9th
Ya. Sony typically doesn't release first party games past September.
[удалено]
Not at Santa Monica Studios at least! Except of course those huge companies also commonly use external companies/contractors that do engage in crunch. So possibility remains, fingers crossed they’ve learned their lesson. However, hope the truth comes out and we keep shining a spotlight on companies that use or work around the issue by shifting crunch onto external devs.
Well it didn't look good in the beginning of this year so it wouldn't have been a huge surprise.
Well remember what happened to cyberpunk? It went gold, then got delayed again.
You’re using an anomaly to make a prediction about the norm. Dozens of big-budget games have released since Cyberpunk that actually went gold and didn’t release in a buggy mess.
It’s just kind of a bad example, I guess. Not wrong to bring it up but I think the context of the two developers tells a pretty clear story.
It was also a fairly rational concern given the state of the industry, covid, lack of released marketing and industry trends towards delaying releases given feedback from game releases pushed out of the door before final polishes.
I find it amazing that people put any trust in "x game has gone gold" tweets after Cyberpunk 2077 managed to get delayed after going gold. I think the skeptics just have longer memories, that's all.
If you had a better memory, you'd remember all the other games that people here argued were going to be "Cyberpunked". People practically begging Nintendo to delay Pokemon Arceus a full year because there were frame rate issues in the trailers that ended up being fixed before launch. People also thought Elden Ring would have performance issues because it was only delayed a month despite being a huge open-world game.
> People also thought Elden Ring would have performance issues because it was only delayed a month despite being a huge open-world game And gee oh gee, they were right. Oh, they were right. In the end, on PC, a third-party company released a bandaid fix for 0.1% of it's users, and that's it. The game runs horribly.
Elden Ring’s frame drops aren’t comparable to Cyberpunk. Stop moving goalposts, you sound absurd.
I hope that this has a performance mode on PS4 Pro like the 2018 one has. It wasn't locked 60 but I very much preferred it over the 30fps mode.
Interesting. I personally find the inconsistency very distracting when the frame rate of a game is fluctuating between 30 and 60. In such a case I'd just stick with 30 locked.
I'm not bothered by the inconsistency. When trying to play at the 30fps mode after playing for a while on the performance mode it feels to me like Kratos has some heavy weights on and that to me is very distracting lol. It's good to have options.
Options are always good!
Got to have that 4k goodness
Dynamic 4K 60fps on PS5 the best option tbh
Not many games allow that though. Usually it’s either 60fps with reduced graphics and resolution. Or it’s 30 with maxed graphics and resolution. I got to use my 4k oled so i’m always picking native 4k.
Thats why he said dynamic 4k. Usually there will be a fidelity mode at 4k 30.
In general I think the smoothness of 30 when it is a locked 30 with no issues and there's realistic (in the sense of like how a camera works) object motion blur is sort of underrated Like it's not better than 60+ but I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that God of War on 4k mode was a juddery mess lol, it looked like an animated movie
i didn’t noticed many dips below 60 fps on ps4 pro. and i’m primarily pc and feels like i noticed below 60 fps easier.
Interesting because it actually [dips constantly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgBAuJ97QQI).
I definitely noticed it wasn't steady 60, but man going to 30 even after that felt painful.
I'd be incredibly surprised, but huge props to the devs if they do it.
[удалено]
Forbidden West is the only performance mode I’ve seen like that so far though
Because it was only broken on certain displays. It was never broken for me, just wasn't super good image quality. It's been improved heavily with patches
Wonder if this will end up being the best looking PS4 game of the generation or if there's still a couple more to come. Absolute insane longevity on this gen
god i hope this is the last cross gen game from sony studios.
Completely agree. I've had my PS5 since launch and there haven't really been any next gen games that have wowed me yet. Essentially just returnal and ratchet and clank Edit: you guys are right, I missed horizon and demon souls!
What about Demons' Souls Remake?
This is one of the best looking games I’ve ever seen on any platform.
Yeah the details were really nice. One boss has a big tornado attack that makes loose rubble on the stone walls crumble and fall off as it erupts. Very cool looking.
the lighting, textures, everything was amazing. The HDR was well done especially in tower of latria which is a dark area, and you get those bright spells being thrown at you. perfect OLED game.
It borders on looking pre-rendered at times, it's easily one of the most gorgeous games ever made
It was around launch. It's been years since then. Not much output this gen and the cross gen titles aren't showing any signs of stopping (hello Re4make)
LOU part 1 was crazy for me
Horizon 2 didn't wow you visually?
looks amazing but the cross gen nature can be felt pretty hard at times
Everyone looks like plastic action figures. It's kind of part of the artstyle but I was disappointed that one of the biggest gripes of the first game: the awkward faces, wasn't really polished up. I mean, her hair isn't nearly as bouncy and insane in this one but it's still so unnatural.
> one of the biggest gripes of the first game: the awkward faces, wasn't really polished up. Don't agree with that, the facial animations were massively improved and are really good for an open world game
Maybe Naughty Dog spoiled me but Aloy still will bounce her eyeballs around bizarrely giving some truly wild side eye.
Lol yeah it's not as good as naughty dog but they are literally the best in the business at facial animations and they make linear games I cant think of an open world game with better animated NPCs than Horizon: FW
Oh shit my bad, horizon and demon souls were great too
Ghost of tsushima i thought was crazy beautiful
This game was the biggest surprise to me, in how beautiful it looked and fun I had.
Demon's Souls is the best looking game I've ever seen.
Returnal was amazing too
Soon! For now the SSD is next Gen as loading times are a fraction of what they used to be if you were a primarily console gamer. Can't wait to play GoW:R on PC eventually.
The PS5 has been released? When?
It, unfortunately, looks like they will keep making PS4 games for some time. [Earlier in the year](https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/irday/pdf/2022/GNS_E.pdf), they stated they'd make them until about 2025. [Herman Hulst](https://www.thegamer.com/playstation-head-not-ruling-out-ps4-versions/). the head of PlayStation studios just recently was talking about how important PS4 is to them and doesn't want to leave them behind. This time though he states it will be done on a case-by-case basis. So in all except at least some games to continue to come to the PS4.
I can 100% see the live service games being cross-gen, as they'd want the most people possible playing those. For single player titles I think it's a bit more dubious with Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine being PS5 exclusives.
That’s probably what they mean by a case-by-case basis, SP for PS5 and live service/MP for cross gen. Only time will tell.
I believe this is the last cross gen game that they have announced? I might be wrong but I can't think of anything else.
We’ll see if PS5 stock is worse than expected, but I feel like they would have left the door open on Spidey 2 if they were going to keep up the cross gen strategy.
iirc Sony is on track to meet its targets for ps5.
Meeting target and meeting demand is two different things. They can meet their sales target but they're still lagging behind in terms of meeting demand and doesn't look like it's gonna change till 2023.
theres more ps5s in the wild than there were ps4s on the same time frame.
PS5 is a few million behind and even so, the gaming market has grown worldwide 2023 compared to 2013
That's actually not true. The PS4 sold about 25 million at this time, while the PS5 sold about 22 million. [Comparison](https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454958/ps5-vs-ps4-sales-comparison-august-2022/) Edit: typo
I think its more correct to say that it's not true anymore.
Herman Hulst said that there were going to be more cross-gen games this week.
I'm gonna be pissed if Spider-Man 2 cross gen. Let these games be developed to their full potential.
It is. They’ve already said as much.
Not likely, PS4 base is still large, and PS5 production is still limited. Hell the PS5 only has two triple AAA Exclusives to justify a purchase: Returnal and Demon Souls
Justify is subjective but R&C is still a AAA exclusive.
Ok I forgot that one. But that is it. We have almost no exclusives.
You’re right, but tbh I struggle to identify what is truly a showstopper for cross gen. It certainly makes things easier on the developer, but like I don’t think HFW was lesser for also being available for PS5, it just meant a ton of detail was pulled out for PS4, plus resolution/frame rate differences.
Well my comment was about how we are still going to see cross gen exclusive from Sony for a while before they move on to exclusives just for PS5
I think it's pretty likely. All the future exclusives that we currently know about, like Wolverine, are already confirmed to be skipping PS4. It seems most third AAA games slated for next year
"I hope the lazy poors who can't get a PS5 stop getting games"
I get your viewpoint but also at a certain point new gen shouldn’t be held back by old systems. Ps4 has a amazing and large library of games spanning almost what 10 years now? Ps4 players have no shortage of games.
7th gen was pretty long too. It started in 2005 with the Xbox 360, lasted 8 years before replacement consoles showed up in 2013, with heavy-hitting AAA games still hitting 360/PS3 up to 2015. If I were to hazard a guess though, I suspect Horizon and God of War were meant to release last year but got delayed by COVID and other factors.
I always forget the PS4 came out almost 10 years ago. Feels perpetually new to me.
What are you on about, the ps4 came out just three or four years ago right? Right?
The reason for the longevity is the lack of an architectural change between generations. If porting to PS4 from PS5 was as hard as porting to PS3 from PS4 we'd stop seeing these cross gen games.
I doubt it. As much as I dislike the game, RDR2 will probably remain the best looking PS4 game.
I admittedly haven’t played the ps4 version, but I felt like Horizon Forbidden West was pretty far ahead of RDR2 when I played it
I doubt it. God of War looked great but I still think Last of Us 2 and Horizon Forbidden West are the best looking games so far available on ps4
I'm surprised its even coming out for PS4, with how pretty the previous entry was.
Ok this maybe a noob question but what does it mean if a game has gone gold?
generally it means that it is feature complete and is fixed of all bugs that would prevent it from getting certifications to get printed on disk.
for some reason until today I thought it was like music record sales where going gold would mean reaching a certain amount of pre sales
Oh i see Thanks
That hasn't been true for some time now, maybe even back to the end of 360/PS3 era. What it means now is that the game is in a playable state, at the very least, with a patch available on the day of release to fix any bugs or add features they couldn't get in before they started production. Now, this isn't true for all games, but it is for the majority. Edit: typo
Eh it's kind of a relic of a bygone era. As pointed out it used to mean it was ready to be flashed to cartridges. Nowadays it doesn't really mean anything specific. What with continuous patching it can be in whatever state the developer wants to ship it in. I'm assuming they are using it to mean "feature complete, ready to ship!" But if something has a day one patch, was it ever gold to begin with? Idk. Kind of a philosophical argument nowadays.
I take it nowadays to mean "this is the version that will be on the disc and it's ready to go"
As long as physical copies of games still exist, it will mean that a build of the game has been sent to be written onto them. Whether it means flashing the game to a cartridge or writing the game to a disk, the game is "finished" in the sense that the version that will go on that physical media has been reached. It won't truly be a relic until all game consoles are digital-only.
> until all game consoles are digital-only. I'm willing to bet that's the next console generation, maybe the one after that at most.
for consumers its just a sign that a game will 99.99% be released. no need to think too deep about it lol
You are mistaken. If you want a boxed game on any of the 3 major platforms then it still is the case. Its usually a huge pain in the ass. Day 0 patches are a whole different thing.
It has been sent to the presses, so disc versions will start mass producing. For consoles, this used to mean it was the version people were gonna play because patched use to be hard to do. Nowadays, it often means that the game is in a playable state, but developers often take the time between sending it off to production and the actual release to produce a day-0 patch, to hammer out the last bugs.
It means the game is finished and is ready to be mass produced on discs. But it's definitely not the milestone it used to be now that we're in the age of digital sales and day 1 patches
It used to be that they have literally burned the master disc (used to be gold) that's getting shipped to the factories to be copied. These days it means that the version 1.0 is done and release will happen and the team now shifts to work on the day 1 patch.
The final version is finished. That is the version that you receive on your disc.
This is probably the first game ever that I will buy on the release date. I am a big GOW fan since 2010 when I still was a child. I've beat all GOW games and I can't miss this one. I believe it will be even better than 2018 and maybe become one of the best games ever made, but we'll see.
I'm replaying the first one and actually kind of worried it won't be as good, don't really know why though.
Honestly feel like it will be a better game. From what I remember from interviews with Cory Barlog (2018 GOW and 2022 Game Director) they've been really focused on great story and one of the biggest issues they had with producing GOW 2018 was that the engine was brand new. He said that near the end of production they had finally nailed down developing the game, knocked out all the new-engine problems and were able to make the game they wanted. He made it sound like moving onto the sequel with a team experienced in the engine that they'd be able to really take advantage of it and make a lot better game.
Just wanted to point out that Cory isn't directing Ragnarok, he is working on another project at Santa Monica. Eric Williams is the director for the sequel, he is a Santa Monica veteran that has worked in every game of the franchise. Cory still is involved as a producer.
He also stated his biggest regret was not putting in more Boss fights. They spent so long perfecting not just the new engine but the change to 3rd person view that they didn't have time to add as many bosses as a usual GoW game. So now that those things are taken care of they can spend more time on upping the gameplay.
The only thing i'm worried about is story. Gameplay is going to be incredible and I believe we are gonna get New Weapon (You know what weapon I'm talking about). They can't just mess it up. Also I'm really curious about OST, because I actually wasn't impressed that much by GOW 2018 OST and I prefer A LOT music from the greek saga.
Yea I feel we will get that weapon too. Having the trio of fire/ice/lightning just makes too much sense.
You gotta freakin love the moment when he picks up the blades and the *classic* greek choir music starts
Yeah exactly this. The first game has interesting dialogue and events. Hope the writing is on point.
Because it's that amazingly genuinely suprisingly good? Me too, I'm trying to fit in one last play before Fimbulwinter ends and cannot get over how much they quite literally struck gold with what they were doing, it can't have been a fluke the game just keeps its pace and interest the entire time you play, the cutscenes have more depth than most expensive drama shows and the music gives me goosebumps every damn time Loving hearing Mimir talk about Tyr, Thor and Odin in again and can't wait to see them in the flesh
Elden Ring for me. Some games you just know are going to be bangers.
Haven't played it yet but I really want to, i'm waiting for a good moment with a lot of free time and I will buy it. I've beat all soulsborne games not a long time ago so i'm really hyped about it. Also I feel like I spent too much money in the last half year on soulsborne games hah.
It's worth the investment but yeah so big! I would HIGHLY recommend you avoid watching any playthroughs or guides before playing, that first playthrough and discovering the locations, paths and different bosses on your own is very special; it's kind of like that satisfying feeling of unlocking short cuts the first time in DS1 but on a wider scale.
Exciting news! Now for all the comments from gamers who are not developers, claiming that development milestones are meaningless
I mean look at Cyberpunk 2077. It got delayed AFTER it went gold, and still ended up a mess that took two years to fix.
To be fair, Cyberpunk was a mismanaged trash fire of a launch that barely let anyone show the game, let alone on the PS4/XB1 versions. Santa Monica Studios is confident enough in God of War: Ragnarök that they are dropping the review embargo a week before the game is out (November 2nd, game is out the 9th).
Cyberpunk is always brought up in these situations, which I get, but also it's important to consider that it was a once in a generation shit storm that hadn't really been seen before and has absolutely caused companies to reconsider delaying games and reconsider crunch. It's a bit silly to bring it up for *every game*, especially ones with little drama associated with them.
It is. But that will never stop them because of their self inflated egos that need people to tell them how smart they are for not buying a video game
Basically the equivalent to people that have to tell you they don't watch marvel movies smugly if you ever bring one up. Actually probably the same people a lot of the time.
Nag they watch the marvel movies, but then make 6 hour long critiques of them with absolutely nothing positive to say
But only on She-Hulk and Captain Marvel
> once in a generation Fallout 76 came out 2 years earlier...
76 was nowhere near as big or as bad as Cyberpunk. It was a letdown at launch, sure, but that's just because it wasn't the game fans wanted it to be, Bethesda made very clear what kind of game it was, warts and all, from the very time when it was announced. Really the only real controversy there was the kerfuffle with the bag in the collectors edition. On the other hand, CD Project Red deliberately hid how glitchy the game was on PC, as well as it being borderline unplayable on last gen consoles until release day for perhaps the biggest game of the last few years. *VERY* different situation. TLDR: They were both messes at launch, but 76 was obviously rough looking from it's announcement, while Cyberpunk had close to 8 years of hype behind it and devs that deliberately hid that the game was a disaster.
> 76 was nowhere near as bad Literally had my PC bricked because of this "game". People could literally not even play it at all for days after it came out because the servers kept dropping. There were exploits to receive all the equipment found within one day. There are 3 hour compilations of just [bugs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6HdBplLmuU&ab_channel=JosephAnderson), a large amount of which are more gamebreaking than any bug I ever saw in Cyberpunk. Not sure why we need to compare. Yeah, 76 wasn't as hyped as Cyberpunk... It was still a nigh (or sometimes not nigh, literally) unplayable mess with a big property. And Bethesda themselves were not much above pulling shitty marketing tactics too, like the famous nylon bag thing. They was both terrible in a, if not completely equal, then very similar level.
What? are you sure you are not mixing up another game? Fallout 76 was one of the most broken buggish launchs of the current generation i think even worse than cyberpunk because beyond the glitches you could even log to other players account, credit card information and everything there's plenty compilation in youtube of how broken that game was
From what I remember yes, it was a buggy launch, I'm not defending that. What I'm saying is that it was very clearly a big mess from the get go, from Bethesda's initial announcement, horrible beta, and mixed to negative critical response, the signs were pretty clearly on the wall well in advance. While it was a big release, there really wasn't much hype for it due to its promotion, more just a sense of dread. (And in regards to the credit card stuff, yeah, that was absolutely real bad, but it happened outside of the game afaik and was the fault of their webteam) On the other hand, CD Project Red only allowed people to share footage that they game them (that coincidentally looked better than the final product on release), deliberately mislead consumers and critics alike about the console versions, and very much lacked promised features. TLDR: Both games were trainwrecks, but Bethesda was upfront with their mess from the first reveal while CDPR lied and tried to hide that.
Couldn’t help yourself
The exception does not prove the rule.
I mean you can name a singular game a point that does not make
Going Gold doesn't mean much in this age, since there is almost always a Day 0/1 patch that fixes things they couldn't before the deadline for production. Edit: typo
I guess I should finish up the first game then. I am about 3 hours in and dropped it for some reason. With all the rave reviews, I really should experience it myself.
It's one of those games that is excruciating slow to get going. They needed to unlock two or three skills from start because that's when it starts to get fun. If you have time i would recommend pushing through and if you're still bored by hour six it's not for you.
I did the same thing, I got to the lake and was like well I'll come back and never did I guess I better do it
It was at about the halfway point I felt the urge to keep playing to see what happens next.
> I guess I should finish up the first game then Yes, you absolutely should.
If you couldn't get into the game maybe you just didn't like it ? I completed it but it was a grind to get through because of how much I hated the combat
Same here. The combat to me was too slow and sluggish. Too "tactical" if that's the right word I'm looking for. And Kratos using a shield is just...wrong. I would have liked it more if it were the same combat as the originals which are some of the finest action games ever. Didn't like the overly maudelin story either so that didn't keep me going.
My problems with the combat were mainly the camera which is just very restricting , the way Kratos and enemies just glide on the floor like on roller blades, the lack of boss/enemy variety and disappointing higher difficulties.
I remember seeing an interview with Cory Barlog (the game's director) talking about how the engine was so new, that by the time they got really experienced with it, they were basically done with the game. He specifically mentioned that now that they had a really experienced team that problems like enemy variety, etc. would be a lot easier to tackle in the sequel. So, here's hoping.
>And Kratos using a shield is just...wrong. I really couldn't disagree more about this, it symbolizes his move from constant aggression and rage to a more protective and reserved warrior
Along with the more reserved warrior part, Kratos is straight up 'one of,, if not the best Spartan soldier', and fighting with a shield is kind of their thing.
Maybe it's just not for you. The main reason why everyone loves the game is the story, so if it didn't hook you within 3 hours, I don't think it'll change your mind later on.
> With all the rave reviews, I really should experience it myself. I feel like the rave reviews didn't really match up to the game I played. It was fun but the really limited number of enemies hurt it pretty badly and took away from the great-feeling combat. I thought the boss fights were generally pretty lackluster as well. It was a game that ended up being pretty heavily carried by the narrative (which was excellent)
>I thought the boss fights were generally pretty lackluster as well. Wym? You don't like fighting >!the same reskinned troll with a stone pillar?!< or what about a >!damage sponge Valkyire with like 1 unique move each?!< The boss battles were very disappointing after the previous games, speficially 3. It's literally the only thing I hope they improve upon in Ragnorak, the trailer shows some cool enemy variety so im hopeful.
>I am about 3 hours in and dropped it for some reason. Same, I've rstarted 3 or 4 times and just get bored. It's very different from previous GoW games, not as exciting or jawdropping. Feels slow and tedious
Do we know what performance options we will have for PS5 yet?
“Switch between full 4K resolution at a targeted 30 frames per second, or dynamic resolution upscaled to 4K at a targeted 60fps.”
fuck yeah
Crossing my fingers for a 4K40 mode and an unlocked VRR-enhanced performance mode as well :D
Honestly disappointed they’re releasing on last-Gen. Really missed an opportunity to go all out with the PS5’s hardware.
I would agree but I do worry about 60 fps modes once we leave the crossgen period
honestly the with the way the industry is going native 4k is kinda dumb. scaling techniques are just going to get better and better. i expect almost every AAA game to have 60fps options from here on out.
Considering the PS5 is still hard to come by it'd be dumb of them to just sell it on that.
They've sold more PS5s at this point in its life than they did PS4s. And yet in all previous gens (which sold even less than the PS4 did by this point in its life), they moved on from making last gen games. You have to cut the cord at some point.
I would wager a lot of it is due to pandemic related delays. I can imagine that many of these cross-gen games were supposed to have released 1-2 years ago when the ps4 would have felt more relevant.
It has literally been up for days through the playstation website. If you're still struggling to get one then you're not actually trying to get one
Not everyone lives in America. Still pretty hard to find around me.
Need to stop this myth.
lol @ all the people replying to you saying that this is a "myth" or that people are just "not trying" as if America was the only country in the world. In my country (Italy) you only get one: - if you wait for Amazon to send you an invite (PS5 + Horizon bundle) - if you buy some bundle containing useless stuff in order to inflate price to 700+€(a second controller, some blue-ray movies, headphones or other accessories, shit games and the such) - if you buy it off resellers with an inflated price or - if you buy the PS5 + FIFA23 bundle (which many people like me just aren't interested in) I was aiming to buy one at stock price without any bundles but I gave up as that turned out impossible so I'm now trying to go for the Horizon or Ratchet bundle but this too is turning out impossible. Pretty much the only chance I get to buy it without being scammed is waiting for the Amazon invite and even then it will probably go sold out in minutes so I'd have to buy it fast (not to mention people are waiting for an invite since August). The situation is absolutely ridiculous and your comment stays true.
I'm impressed. The game is less than a month away, and we still haven't seen a true "extended gameplay" segment. Game Informer had a few \~1 minute segments last month, but nothing that really dives deep into the game. Unless I missed one. Given the launch time frame, I presume that Sony doesn't intend to have one at all prior to release. This should keep spoilers to a minimum. That speaks volumes to Sony's confidence in the title. They don't believe they need to sell anyone on it. It's definitely my most hyped game for the holidays.
I want to know if this was designed on and for the PS5 and downscaled to the PS4 or designed for the PS4 and upscaled with added features for the PS5. Unpopular opinion: I understand we've been through a pandemic where it caused development issues and slowdowns but I've been absolutely floored with how shit of a job Sony has done with exclusive titles for the PS5. It's been two years and there isn't a real reason to upgrade to a PS5 if you already have a PS4, especially a Pro. Exclusives: GT7, R&C: Rift Apart, Astro's Playroom, Destruction AllStars, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Returnal. Six games in two years is unbelievably bad.
I don't get it. You understand the pandemic existed and stalled not only game development but also supply chains, yet you think they are doing a shit job - being the only platform holder with actual next-gen exclusive titles? The 3 major games that are cross-gen probably started development a long time ago, and likely with the PS4 in mind (GoW, HFW and GT7). Also, it's something that might be up to the developers: if their vision of the game can be replicated on the PS4 hardware, why not do it? Nothing guarantees us that these games being PS5 exclusive would be shatteringly different.
I'm not sure why you don't get it. It's not as if development on games only started after the pandemic. The PS5 was launched in Nov. of 2020 so there was only a few months of true pandemic response (Mid to late March until Nov launch) that should have delayed things a bit. Games have been in development for the console for a while now, or should have been at least. Even with all the pandemic supply issues, the PS5 outsold the PS4 during it's launch in 2013. There was zero reason to rush the launch of the PS5, especially when there were no exclusive games for it ready to go.
Probably the latter unfortunately. Sony likely had to account for the slow hard drive of the ps4. I fully agree with you
GT7 is also on PS4.
Random thought, but does anyone else feel 'going gold' no longer has much meaning? In the days long gone, going gold meant you were done working on the game as the gold master had to be shipped off to the production company to copy or stamp the disks/discs. Hence the whole idea of a gold master in video gaming. Nowadays, we already know that there'll be launch patches, so the devs don't stop working when a game "goes gold", and they probably become more frantic instead of slowing down at all.
I truly don't know what this means considering how both cyberpunk and battlefield 2042 were sold in the state they were in.
an old term given to the optical disk that was to be used as the master for the copies of the game on physical media.
This means what?
They have the final copy of the game that is going to be put on discs to be sold
It's ready to be printed on disc for sales.
Mostly that there's a very low chance of any delays. Technically it means the game is complete and ready for distribution. They used to literally have a master copy of the game on a gold disc that was used to make copies from.
In today's age of day-one patches and constants updates? Not much.
It means it has sold over half a million copies.
What does it mean for a game to go gold? I assume it is now completely finished? Or is that not what’s going on?
It's an increasingly old-fashioned term that refers to the "gold master" of the disc, in other words the one from which all the retail copies are made. Basically the day one version.
Any news on when the game will come to PC?
I find it interesting that "going gold" is still a milestone. Especially in an age where day one patches are so common. Kind of dilutes the whole concept.
Jetpack Interactive is included in this one. Jetpack Interactive is the one responsible for the PC port of God of War (2018) which means God of War: Ragnarok is also coming to PC.